Samsung Electronics sold 63 million smartphones in Q4 - report

A Samsung Galaxy Note II phone-cum-tablet is displayed during the first day of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas January 8, 2013.
REUTERS/Steve Marcus/Files

SEOUL Samsung Electronics Co(005930.KS), the world's top handset maker, sold 63 million smartphones in the fourth quarter and commanded a 29 percent share of the global smartphone market, a report by research firm Strategy Analytics showed on Friday.

In 2012, Samsung sold 213 million smartphones with a 30 percent market share, followed by Apple Inc (AAPL.O), which sold 135.8 million iPhones with a 19 percent market share, the report said.

FRANKFURT German semiconductor chipmaking machinery company Aixtron is considering reducing the size of the business with a partial sale, its chief executive said in an interview published on Friday, opening the door for bidders after a deal with a Chinese firm collapsed.

HONG KONG Chinese photo app and mobile phone maker Meitu Inc is set to raise $630 million after pricing its Hong Kong initial public offering at the bottom of expectations, a person with direct knowledge of the deal said on Friday.